Dr. Beata Dreksler (Department of Landscape Design and Ecosystem Management) organized a 3-days field visit for Landscape Architecture 2nd and 3rd year students to Jabal Moussa Biosphere Reserve (JMBR) located in the Keserwan District. The activity was part of the 3rd year design Studio, 'Studio VI: Natural Landscape Design' (LDEM246) and within the scope of promoting students hands-on experience. The aim was to expose students to a diversity of topics in UNESCO Biosphere Reserves and visit sites identified by the Association for the Protection of Jabal Moussa (APJM) to propose design interventions. Additionally, students visited several villages and talked with the residents of the area to understand the character of the buffer zone, as well as hiked in two different climatic zones of the core area (Chouwan and Qehmez) to appreciate the natural landscape of the reserve.
The 2nd year students used this opportunity to realize assignments related to their respective studio 'Studio IV: Cultural Landscape Design' (LDEM 204) and the 'Site Appreciation and Site Analysis' (LDEM 263) course. The activity was funded by EDUBIOMED - capacity building for education and applied research in Mediterranean UNESCO's biosphere reserves (Dr. Salma Talhouk from LDEM, the Nature Conservation Center (NCC) and the Association for the Protection of Jabal Moussa (APJM).
